Robbery of the Heart & The Bank
by Alondite
Summary: Fumofuu based. Tessa is able to wave off Sousuke, and finally go on a date with one of the boys of Jindai. But the date goes to heck when they're both hostages in a bank robbery. And you won't believe who the robbers are.


Jindai high school. Held to a high pedigree due to its recent Rugby team, where the teams hardly even showed up, for fear of getting chewed up. Days are usually normal. The students are attentive, and behave properly. Until... the proverbial gun in the air.

"Everyone, put your hands in the air!"

The voice of Sousuke Sagara demanding order when there clearly was seemed as routine to the students as lunch period. "Calm down." Sousuke shouted. "I can guarantee everyone's safety if no one moves."

The reason for this was in Chemistry class. The students were mixing chemicals, and one of the chemicals normally started popping up. But when one of the sounds resembled a gunshot, that when's Sousuke took action.

"Now then... " Sousuke started walking around the room, eyeing each of the students. "Are there any firearms in the area?" It didn't take long for the Japanese fan of justice to grace the back of Sousuke's head, and a rightfully pissed Kaname Chidori being the one holding it.

Sousuke turned around to face Kaname, unphased at the back attack. "That hurt." Kaname grabbed Sosuke by his shirt. "You're damn right that hurt! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Sousuke tried to reason with Kaname, which at this point, looked very grim.

"I thought that I heard a gunshot, so I..." "That's your problem. You consider the possibility of thinking, and it hurts everyone around you."

The students didn't really care. They figured everything was under control now that Kaname, the vice president of the student council, gave Sousuke his talking to.

Yep, this is a normal day at Jindai high school.

Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu  
The robbery of the heart & the bank

Finally, the day was over. To Kaname Chidori, everyday was hell. And the person to bring her back to reality was her friend, Kyoko Tokiwa. "You know, Kaname... " Kyoko went on. "Have you ever considered taking the day off? You look stressed everytime I see you at the end of the day." Kaname sighed. If only she could... "Kyoko, I appreicate your concern, but babysitting Sousuke is a full time job. If I could take a day off, trust me, I would." Kyoko giggled. "Just for your personal health. All you can think about is what Sousuke will do next." "Well, it's not like I'm suffering at school or anything." Kaname & Kyoko had reached the point where their path home ends. They both gave each other their goodbyes, and called it a day.

For Sousuke Sagara, the day was not over. He entered his apartment regularly. But something wasn't right. There was a light on in the dining room. He know he had turned out all the lights before he left. He readied his regular pistol... he may have been burglarized! With that, as if with the speed of a cheetah, he entered the room. His feint roll, his alert gun aimed at whomever was in the room. "Sagara-san!" "Captain?"

It was Tessa. She had entered the apartment, was already in the dining room, and scarfing down on some chocolate cake. Sousuke was relieved it wasn't a burglar, but now there was the idea of what his superior officer was doing in his apartment, like it was her own.

"You left a spare key under your mat. Rather typical & ordinary, Sargeant." Tessa said with a minor-mocking touch on the "Sargeant" remark. Sousuke got on his knees, ready to bow, as if you praise or worship. "Madam Captain, I apologize. You're right. I should have been more..." Tessa interrupted. "Calm down, Sagara. You don't have to be so formal with me outside of the Danaan, remember?"

The Tuatha de Danaan, the assault sub she commanded. When in there, Tessa was conventionally all business... when she wasn't being teased by Melissa Mao. But outside, she was your typical 16 year old girl. Sousuke was the same whether in the battlefield, or in the schoolyard.

"So, what are you doing here? What happened to you?" Tessa continued eating her cake. "Nothing really. The Danaan's docked in Japan, so I decided to drop by, and see how you & Kaname are doing. Didn't you get the message I sent you on your phone this afternoon?" Sousuke shook his head. "No, ma'am. All cellular phones are to be turned off during school hours." "Oh, that's right. I forgot." When Tessa got her chance to get some time off, it was usually spent with Sousuke, and observing Kaname, the person who Tessa who shared... well, let's say, a special connection, and leave it at that. Tessa basically explained to Sousuke that she had the week off, and guess who she was going to spend the week with?

"But, what about Mao? Or Kurz?" Sousuke asked. "Are they going to stop by?" Tessa had finally finished eating, and stood up to face Sousuke. "Nope. It's just you and me for the night." That remark made Sousuke very nervous. He and the Captain were all alone on that night. Hell has no comparison when it comes to the punishment he would have recieved if anything happened between the 2.

"I hope you're good to me, Sagara-san." Tessa smiled. To Sousuke, the night was young.

Morning had come, And Sousuke hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. His eyes were extremely baggy. Well, if Tessa spent the night sleeping with her arms wrapped around your midsection, you'd have trouble sleeping too. It was a complex, and sticky situation. Sousuke wanted to wake Tessa up, and start the day, but he was afraid of the consequences if Tessa found out what she had done. A few minutes later, he didn't have to find out. Tessa's hands moved, and she was the one to awaken and put that situation to rest, so to speak.

Tessa rubbed the sleepies of her eyes, and greeted Sousuke. "Good morning, Sagara-san." Sousuke had no time to do the same. He was already preparing for the school day ahead. Which meant the following...

Which ammo to bring?  
How many flash grenades to pack?  
Homework?

He also saluted his Captain. "Good morning, Captain."

And so, the day had begun. Sousuke gave Tessa his room in order for her to get dressed in her privacy. Sousuke had never gotten undressed, so his school clothes stayed on. And they both left together to school, Tessa sticking by Sousuke the whole way.

"Sousuke, you look terrible." Kyoko said, as she caught up with Sousuke. "Tokiwa. Where is Miss Chidori?" "Well, I haven't seen her. We usually cross paths in the morning on the way to school."

That was other odd. Kaname & Kyoko were always together in the morning.

"Tessa... I must go." Sousuke took a sprint towards the school. "Sagara-san!" "Sousuke!" But by the time Kyoko & Tessa called out to Sousuke, he was already gone. "Oh, Tessa, it's good to see you too. Back for more study?" Tessa smiled to Kyoko. "Yep. It should be fun."

Sousuke dashed inside the school, and into his homeroom, but he didn't see Kaname there either. Sousuke was worried. Where was Kaname?

He then saw the Student Body room. It was rather taped up. Sousuke heard some MMMPHing, and a sound of a clock ticking away. He flung the door open, and saw them.

The Secretary to the Student Body President, Ren Mikihara, and the Student Body Vice President, Kaname Chidori, were sitting handcuffed together. Their mouths were covered by tape. They both screamed MMMPHingly out to Sousuke when they saw him. In front of both of them was what looked like a timer around sticks of dynamite. It was a bomb! Sousuke went to Ren first, and removed the tape from her mouth.

"Sagara!" "Mikihara, don't worry. everything will be alright. What happened to you?" "Sagara, behind you!"

It was too late. Sagara felt a gun against the back of his head.

"Bang."

Sagara closed his eyes. He knew he was dead. But yet... he saw him. It was Student Body President Hayashimizu. He was holding a fake gun. There was no BANG, just the sound of Hayashimizu saying the word "Bang!"

"President Hayashimizu. What is the meaning of this? Setting a bomb up in a school. It's despicable." "Look again, Sagara." Sousuke took another look at the bomb to find out it wasn't a bomb at all. It was just a flat digital timer with small wooden logs painted red.

"It's a fraud?" said Sousuke. "A convincing fraud at that. It fooled even the bodyguard of the student body." Hayashimizu walked over to Ren & Kaname, and pulled out a key. "Sagara, if you can't be prepared for any situation that comes your way, how can you be trusted as our bodyguard?" Hayashimizu then used the key to unlock the handcuffs binding together Ren & Kaname.

"Thank you so much Ren. Your acting was very convincing." Ren stood up, and bowed to Hayashimizu. "No problem at all, Sempai." Kaname however was not in the same mood. And when she too stood up, and removed the tape from her mouth... "That's the last time I go through with your stupid charade. What kind of Student Body enters your room in the wee hours of the morning, and knocks you out with a cloth of chloroform across your mouth? THIS SCHOOL IS CRAZY!" Hayashimizu then faced Kaname. "Miss Chidori, this also concerns you." "Say what?" "You were unable to defend yourself from getting attacked by Mikihara last night. How can we trust our Vice President to be active, when she's not able to put up a fight?" "I'm sorry about that, Kaname-san." Mikihara chimed in. "Surely, you should have been prepared for me." "I take that back." Kaname pointed to both Ren & Hayashimizu as she replied. "This school isn't crazy. YOU BOTH ARE!"

The day had passed rather normal, which was strange. Kaname didn't even question why Tessa was back at school. All she knew was Tessa became more then enough to keep Sousuke well-behaved. And she was right. Sousuke hadn't done anything out of line. Sure, he had his gun out to anyone attempting to even compliment Tessa, but he had not done anything. Then came the afternoon, or it is known in Jindai... the rest period.

"So that's what happened." Kyoko was explained the situation from a now calm, and logical Kaname. "Yes, Kyoko, that's what happened. Apparently, our school is a circus." Kaname said as Sousuke approached them. "And here comes the ringleader." She said under her breath. "I need to ask you something." "Save it, Sousuke. I need some time to recooperate from the blatant idiocy of the Student Body." "I was talking to Tokiwa." "Me?" Kyoko pondered. "Her?" Kaname followed up. "I need to know if you've seen Tessa around." Kyoko breathed a sigh of relief. So that was it... "Well, the last place I saw her was the shoe locker, if that's what..." "Thank you." With that, Sousuke was off. "Sousuke, wait!" shouted Kaname. "Kaname!" Kyoko tried to call out to Kaname to stop her, but she was long gone.

At this point, Tessa was at her shoe locker. The very little time she had away from Sousuke, she smiled at the independence. Even though she liked Sousuke, she didn't feel right about him following her every move.

Suddenly, something fell out of her shoe locker. It was a letter with a pink envelope. What could it be? She wasn't able to find out, as Sousuke came out of nowhere, and swiped the letter from her hand.

"Sagara-san! What's going on?" It was Sousuke, examining the letter. "It doesn't seem to be bugged, nor does it seem to be carrying an explosive." He handed the letter back to Tessa. "It's clean, ma'am. But just to be sure..." Sagara pulled out his 9mm pistol. "I'll need to open it with a shot of this pistol." "THAT'S IT!" Kaname grabbed Sousuke, and dragged him by the arm. "Violating a women's personal privacy is something I can't tolerate today, even if it is you." "But, Kaname..." "If you say "but" one more time, I'm going to kick yours so hard, it'll be jammed inside your intestines!." And then they were gone, leaving Tessa alone to open that letter. She read its contents... "But this is a..."

"Miss Testarossa, I have written this letter on the request that you and I go on a date. I'm a little shy, so I apologize for not telling you this in front of you, but I think you know the reason why I can't even get close to you. I wanna show you the town the way I see it every night. I'm sure we'll have a great time. Sincerely, Ryouta Nagai. That's what I wanted it to say."

Ryouta Nagai, middle brown short hair, 16 years old, brown eyes, somewhat skinny build. He had recently joined Tsubaki Issei's Karate Club, and he attended History class with Tessa. He had fallen head over heels for Tessa, but thanks to a certain paranoid Sousuke, he had no chance of even getting a centimeter within her reach without him pointing his pistol at him. He found the best way to do it was to be a letter in her shoe locker. He had told the whole story to his Karate Club teacher, Tsubaki.

"So you've thought about that, Nagai." "Yep. I'm really sure that she and I will have a great time." "And you did this knowing Sagara will stay by her side?" "I'm sure even he has some common sense, right?" "You apparently don't know Sagara as well as I do. In any case, I wish you luck, and hope for the best." "Thanks, Tsubaki-sensei. Your support is just the inspiration I need for my love, Tessa!"

Just then, the door of the Karate Club opened. Ryouta was happy with who entered.

"Ah, there you are." "Are you Ryouta Nagai?" "Yes, I am. I'm so happy to see you, Tessa-chan."

Tsubaki giggled. Tessa-chan? This guy is toast.

"So, you got my letter?" Tessa nodded. "The answer is yes. I'd love to." Nagai jumped for joy. "YEAH! You've made me the happiest man in Jindai. I'll pick you up at 6 then." "6:00 is fine. I look forward to it." Tessa left, and Nagai was smiling so brightly, it would blind a normal man's retinas. "That went normal." Tsubaki finally spoke. "Oh, it's gonna be so great!" Nagai went on to say. "We're gonna see a movie, and I'm gonna take her to a resturant. I might even get to... well..." "Heh, you're a lucky man if you think you're gonna get that far." "I just know it. She's gonna kiss me at the end of the day."

"No, she won't." Sousuke entered the Karate Club, much to Tsubaki's dismay. "Hey, Sagara!" Tsubaki yelled angrily "You're not to enter this club. You have disgraced his doors, and I will not allow you to enter." Sousuke stared at Tsubaki coldly. "Not now." Sousuke then faced an unphased Ryouta. "You're Ryouta Nagai, aren't you?" Ryouta answered him normally. "Yep." "I'm here to inform you that you dating Miss Testarossa is something that I am not willing to allow." "Is that so?" Ryouta smiled, and talked right back to Sagara smoothly. "Because she just said yes, and I dare you to change her mind." "I don't have to change her mind. I can change yours." Sousuke's pistol was out. "If you touch Miss Tessa in any way that she is not comfortable with, you will live to regret it." "Ok, sure." Ryouta said unthreatened by Sagara's tone. "Heed my words." And with that, Sousuke left.

"Man, I hate that guy." Tsubaki scowled. But all Ryouta did was keep his solid grin.

And so, preparations had begun. Ryouta went home, and got ready for the date. He took a thorough shower, and got dressed. He had on a leather coat with a white T-shirt under it. He then put on some denim pants to try & match. "Nothing can go wrong tonight."

Meanwhile, back at Sousuke's apartment, various questions were being thrown about. "Are you well-protected?" "What kind of gun will you bring?" "Has he been cleared by the government?" Sagara couldn't help but be curious as to who this Nagai person was. He had never been in class with him before, so he had no idea of his nature.

Tessa was agitated, but she tolerated him to her degree. "Sagara-san, you sound like a mother. Now don't worry. I'll be fine." Tessa was wearing a black tanktop under a sleeveless white shirt. She also wore her black bicycle shorts covered with a kneehigh gray skirt. She also put her hair down, and had cherry red lipstick on her lips. To the normal person, she was strikingly beautiful. But to Sousuke, he didn't see her as beautiful. He still saw her as Captain.

"But just to be safe..." Tessa took a small walkie talkie, and put it on a small belt. She took the belt, and wrapped it around her left leg. "If I ever need you, I'll contact you with the walkie talkie, ok?" Tessa winked to Sousuke, leaving Sousuke to do his old hand salute. "I understand. I shall remain here, should anything happen." Tessa giggled, and after that, she was on her way. "See you later, Sagara-san." She closed the door behind her.

About 10 minutes later, Kaname showed up. Having confirmed Tessa had left, she did a quite sinister smile. "Perfect." Kaname pulled out a hammer, and dropped various planks of wood right below Sousuke's door. She began hammering them onto the doorway. Sousuke heard the loud tapping on his door, and opened one of his front windows.

"Miss Kaname, what's going on?" Kaname talked to Sousuke while she was hammering away. "Trust me, Sousuke. This is for your own good. I'm boarding you into your house so you can't get involved in Tessa's date." "But Kaname, she told me to..." "Stay here, I bet. But at the drop of a pin, you'll be out of your apartment, concerned that something's going to happen to her. This is Tessa's night." "Kaname, don't you think you're overreacting?" "Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Anyway, Tessa finally has the chance to have some fun, and I feel it is my right, no, my duty to prevent you from getting involved in it." Kaname had finished boarding up Sousuke's door. "There, done." Kaname moved towards the windows. "You better move, Sousuke, unless you want your head hammered in." "Kaname..." Kaname continued to interrupt Sousuke's pleas. "You're not getting out of this one. I'll be damned if you're going to interfere in 2 people having a good time." Kaname began hammering the windows, and it wasn't long before Sousuke himself was boarded in. Kaname wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Nighty night, Sousuke." And with that, Kaname wiped her hands clean, after a job well done. And then, she left to go back to her apartment. It wasn't far from Sousuke's. In fact, it was so close, she could see it if she took a small squint.

Ryouta was walking over to Sousuke's apartment. Tessa and him would intersect somewhere along that route. And surely enough, Ryouta saw Tessa while walking over. Inside, Ryouta's jaw was dropping at how... sexy Tessa looked to him. But he greeted her with a friendly hello, as Tessa did the same.

And so, IT began. Ryouta took Tessa to an art museum a few blocks up. Tessa wasn't that much into art, but she herself was amazed at some of the works there. Ryouta was different. This was one of the stops he wanted to show her the most. Especially since his favorite piece was here. It was a pretty mermaid with ash-grey hair. Tessa looked at it suspiciously. ' It kinda looks like me ' . Ryouta went on. "I am inspired by mermaids. I know this may seem strange, but to me, a mermaid has the ability to swim freely, and not be tied down by responsibility or anything. That must be a great life, don't you think?" Tessa agreed. Even though she meant most of her own time under the sea, it wouldn't hurt to be free once in a while. At this point, she felt like the mermaid.

They then went to a movie. The movie playing was a romantic story. It was a story of a boy who had fallen in love with a young girl his age. However, the families they were apart of didn't get along with each other, so the 2 decided to meet in secret. One day, The boy snuck out without his parent's permission. He was going to meet the girl he had fallen in love with, and asked her to run away with him. But before he could, he was shot by a random bullet. The girl cried her eyes out. She loved him. And the families started to see they needed to become friendly with each other, like the boy was with his love. This story touched Tessa. So as the movie went on to the dramatic scenes, Tessa grabbed Ryouta's hand. Ryouta was nervous, but he kept his cool as he squeezed her hand back.

"That movie was so sad." Tessa said as she wiped her eyes. "Yeah, it was. The critics who reviewed the movie said to bring some tissues. Hahaha." Tessa laughed along with him.

"Ok, well, how about dinner? I'm starving." Tessa rubbed her stomach out of hunger. "Ok. Let's see..." Ryouta checked his wallet to see how much money he had left. There was hardly anything. Just 1000 yen. "Oh, shoot. I don't have a lot money left. I'll have to go to the bank, and get some more money." Tessa grabbed his hand. "You don't have to do that, Ryouta. I can pay for the dinner. " Ryouta shook his head. "No way. This whole date is on me. I wouldn't feel right if you paid with your own money." "Well, ok." And so, Ryouta & Tessa went on over to the bank. He wasn't that far from where they were, and soon enough, they reached the bank. "Could you stay here for a few minutes. This won't take long." Tessa smiled. "Sure. I'll be waiting." And with that, Ryouta went inside.

But if Ryouta had known the bank was being robbed, he probably would have had Tessa pay for the dinner.

"Put your hands up in the air! This is a stickup!" was the 1st thing Ryouta heard when he entered the bank. He saw a bunch of people, about 10 of them, varying in age. Little children and elderly men & women. All of them were in a circle tied up with their hands behind them sitting down with their legs cuffed, and their mouths were taped shut with duct tape. Ryouta put his hands up. At this point, it was all he could do.

There were 2 robbers, and both of them had masks around them, and seemed like they were dressed for winter. Probably to lead people off from their actual frame. Although they both sounded quite young. It was however apparent that one of the robbers was female when she spoke. "I don't want any funny business, pal. Just sit down with the rest of the prisoners." The male was holding what appeared to be an assault rifle, and he had it pointed at the hostages. The female only held a 9mm pistol.

Ryouta faced the female robber, who continued to walk towards Ryouta with her gun in hand. "I must warn you..." Ryouta said. "I am very skilled in the art of self defense. Or as you know it... martial arts." Ryouta wanted to get himself, and Tessa especially, out of this situation. Tessa was still outside waiting for Ryouta to come back, so they could continue their date. Tessa knew so little of what was going on inside the bank...

"So if you try anything, I may just be forced to use it." The female robber still moved forward, and retorted. "And I just may be forced to throw it right back at you." And with that, Ryouta got into his stance. The female was now within his range. He could make a quick strike at her, and grab her gun just as fast. Ryouta backed his left hand back in the form of a traditional palm strike. when he tried to strike the female robber in the face, she nimbly dodged it without effort, and ducked down, leg sweeping Ryouta. In the process, the female robber's gun went up in the air, and was tossed out of both of their range. When the gun landed, it fired out of nowhere.

Tessa was getting bored at this point. It had taken 10 minutes. Normally in a less vibrant & populated area, it shouldn't have taken this long to get a withdrawal, and leave.

Then she heard a gunshot.

It was coming from the bank. And her heart skipped a beat. Ryouta was still in there. What if something happened to him? On pure impulse, she ran into the bank.

And she didn't like what she saw.

A female robber had Ryouta pinned to the ground, with his arm pulled behind his back.

"Ryouta!"

The female robber faced the girl, and couldn't believe her eyes.

"How in the hell?"

Tessa heard the female's voice. "Um... do I know you?"

The male robber moved in. 'Damn, of all the people in the world, she had to show up. This could blow the whole deal. I've gotta cover her.' The male robber lowered the tone of his voice a bit. "YOU THERE!" The male robber pointed his assault rifle at Tessa. "Get down on the ground now!" Tessa started to get scared.

She was becoming a hostage in a bank robbery.

"Tessa, run!" "Ryouta!" Tessa moved forward, and then, the male robber fired a shot from his rifle. The shot nearly hit Tessa's chest, but it was able to rip a good chunk off her shirt that it didn't hit. All it did was expose her cleavage, and the male robber seemed quite satisfied. The female faced him with a very angry grin. 'You did that on purpose, idiot.'

The male robber became serious again. "Alright. Next shot won't just hit your clothing. Now hands behind your head!" The male robber motioned to her. Tessa did so by moving her hands behind her, and kneeling to the ground. There wasn't much she could do either. The male robber moved toward Tessa, and brought along some rope, and a roll of duct tape.

Ryouta tried to escape the female robber's grip. "What are you doing to Tessa?" The female robber gave him a nice elbow to the head. "DON'T HURT HIMMMMMMMPHHHH!" As Tessa called out to Ryouta, the male robber slapped a piece of tape over Tessa's mouth. He also took the ropes he had, and tied them around her torso, pinning her arms behind her beforehand. He also pulled out a spare set of cuffs, and cuffed her legs together. ' Well, through a twist of fate, one of my dreams is coming true.' The male tossed out a pair of handcuffs, and a strand of rope to the female robber. He also rolled the roll of duct tape to her. She started to get the idea.

"You'll never get away with this...MMMMMMMFFFFFF! MMMMMMMPH!" Ryouta's mouth was also gagged as well with the duct tape. His arms & legs were being restrained the same way as Tessa. Ryouta couldn't defend himself. The male robber picked up Tessa, and cradled her as he placed her in with the other hostages. And the female robber was able to toss Ryouta right next to Tessa.

"Well, that was easy." Said the male robber. "Like a mouse to his cheese." Added the female robber. The female robber walked over to the male, and motioned him to follow her. They clearly had to talk about something, and found a safe spot where noone could see them.

"Of all the people..." The female removed her facemask. It was Sgt. Major. Melissa Mao. "Why did she have to show up? Everything was going fine." The male also removed his mask as well. It was none other then Sgt. Kurz Weber. Mao was his superior officer. "Great." Kurz spoke up. "She probably knows that guy you creamed. Although it did feel good to tie up the captain. And it was a good shot, wasn't it? Now she's sexier then before." Kurz smiled wide & big. Mao gave Kurz the literal boot to the face after that comment. "WIll you keep your perverted thoughts in your head? The important thing is it doesn't look like Sousuke's with her, so we're safe for now." Kurz agreed. "That's true. Are you sure you still wanna go through with this? I mean, once Tessa figures out it's us, well... just imagine the type of punishment we'd get." "God, I know. And I'll bet those 2 were on a date." "And we're the ones who crashed it." Kurz slumped his head. "Now I'm starting to feel guilty, aren't you Melissa?" Mao snickered. "Nope." Kurz sighed. "Figures. You just LOVE to see Tessa squirm & sweat, don't you?" Mao didn't feel that comment sounded right coming from someone like Kurz. "You know me too well. That girl's just so uptight sometimes, she could use a little thrill once in a while. Now get out there, before she starts to suspect something." Kurz gave Mao a salute. "Yes ma'am."

Kurz reapplied his face mask, and walked back out towards the hostages. As he circled the hostages, they didn't say a thing. They were all silent. They thought that if they caused a commotion, it would be over for them for sure. "I hope you're all enjoying yourselves. Because we're gonna be here a while. All of the police routes have been jammed, so you have no hope of your boys in blue appearing." Kurz didn't lower his voice, and Tessa started to recognize him. "MMMMMMMMMPH! MMMMMMMPH!" Tessa screamed out to him. He sounded familiar, but she couldn't place her finger on it. "Hey, knock that mouth talk off, or I'll shoot!" Kurz was starting to have the idea that Tessa had exposed him, and for his sake, she had to keep her gagged, but also keep the illusion he was a robber to the rest. "Alright, I've had it!" Kurz walked over to Tessa, and pointed his rifle at her. Ryouta didn't move. He had to admit, Tessa did what he could not at this point.

Stand up to a robber.

"MMMMMMPH!" Tessa continued screaming through her gag. She was furious. "Do you have any last words?" Ryouta wanted to call out to Tessa one last time. "Oh right, all you can do is say MMMMFFFFFFF! MFFFFFFFFFF!" Kurz closed his lips as he said that to simulate having your mouth tape gagged. "Let me just remove that tape..." This was the moment of truth.

Mao turned herself around to see what Kurz was doing, and saw him about to ungag Tessa. All she could do was think to herself... 'You idiot...' and put back on her face

Kurz removing the tape from Tessa's mouth was like opening a already shaken up can of soda. "I knew it! Stop this charade right now, KurMMMMMMMMMMPH! MMFFFFF MFFFMPPPPPH!" That was all Tessa was able to get out before having the tape reapplied to her mouth.

It was Game Over.

Tessa knew it was Kurz under that mask. Kurz had exposed himself on voice alone. With Tessa still tied, Kurz picked her up and ran, mad dashed would be better, towards Mao. Mao nodded, and opened the door to a broom closet, as Kurz ran inside with Tessa. Mao followed behind, and shut the door after her.

Ryouta was only left to wonder what Tessa was about to say, and he was more worried on what were they going to do to her.

"Both of you, remove your masks right now." Tessa said calmly. Tessa had all of her restraints removed, even the handcuffs. Her emotional state, well... Imagine a volcano erupting, a dam bursting, a nuclear meltdown, and Kaname's anger, mix them all together, and you have Tessa's anger. Kurz & Mao removed their masks, which had confirmed Tessa's suspicion. It was them.

"What...in...the...HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Tessa's furious words would make The Incredible Hulk pee himself. It was so booming, and commanding. The voice of a captain. Kurz looked at Tessa, and her chest was heaving at this point. At this point, that wasn't something he wanted to focus on. If his eyes glanced anywhere on Tessa besides her eyes...He was a dead man. Appropiate, because the atmosphere in the room was that of the undead.

"I can't believe you two would commit criminal acts. It is disgraceful! Do you have ANY idea what kind of image you're setting for Mithril?" Tessa faced Mao with the same dagger eyes she faced Kurz with. "I have nothing to say to you that I haven't already said before, Melissa." Mao however was elsewhere at this point. "LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Tessa & Mao getting along was common... in Bizarro World. Those 2 got along like a bunch of housecats. In fact, if you gave them both claws on their fingers, they would both be mistaken for vicious lions.

Tessa went on. "I bet you were behind this whole thing, and you forced Sgt. Weber along with you. Despicable, even for you!" That's when Mao spoke. She was calm to Tessa's aggression. "First off... just know that when the 2 of us decided to pull this, we hadn't factored you into the equation. You sort of stepping in on us was kind of... " Mao flickered her wrist to try to get the words out. "...unexpected."

"I was having the time of my life..." Tessa was about to cry. "I was having a date with one of the boys from high school. Everything was chipper. It was going great. He took me to the art museum, the movies, It was on schedule." Tessa clenched her fists. "But then, he couldn't pay me for his dinner." Kurz laughed. "What a cheap bastard." Kurz said this out loud in front of Tessa. Mao sighed to herself. 'Way to calm her down, Kurz.'

Tessa then faced Kurz, and smiled, as if she wasn't angry at all. It's like she had a mode for every type of emotion, and she just activated her cheerful mode. "I'm sorry. Would you mind repeating what you just said?" Tessa said happily. "Um..." A bead of sweat fell from Kurz's cheek. "No?" Tessa giggled as she stepped on Kurz's foot. "That's what I thought." Kurz yelped silently in pain, which left Tessa to revert back to her angry state, and resume what she was saying.

"So anyway, he wanted to get a withdrawal from the bank. Slight problem with that, you two were robbing that very bank! YOU'VE RUINED MY DATE!" Tessa stared directly back at Mao, and the 2 were face to face. "I hope that makes you happy, Melissa, knowing that you've ruined something very special to me." Mao nodded. "Couldn't be happier." She had no fear. At this point, she was going to push as many buttons on Tessa as possible.

"Good then." Tessa now had her back to Kurz & Mao as she spoke. "Now, can I at least get an idea of why you aren't aboard the Danaan?" Mao countered. "Because we actually wanted to have fun. You seriously think you're the only one who gets to become a normal civilian? Uh-uh." "Melissa, you're in NOOOOO position to test me with your smartass remarks. Trust me, pushing me is not something you want to do." Mao giggled. "So, what are you going to do? Discharge me?" Mao shrugged her shoulders. "Please. I think I can get worse handed to me." Tessa smiled. "You're right. I won't punish you 2, but I know someone who would be happy to." Tessa pulled up her skirt, and removed the walkie talkie from its strap on her leg. "You seriously didn't think HE would leave me alone without a form of communication?" Mao & Kurz knew who she meant by... HE.

Sousuke.

"I hold all the cards, you see. I can have Sgt. Sagara in here so fast, you won't even blink. The fun stops here, as they say." Kurz & Mao didn't dare make a move. Tessa was right. She was holding all the cards. She pushed one of the switches on the walkie talkie, and took a deep breath.

Sousuke was boarded in. He had tried smashing through the wooden boards with his arm. Didn't do him too good. So after a few minutes, he faced the facts. Kaname wasn't gonna let him get in Tessa's way. But Sousuke didn't entirely feel comfortable with the captain out in the open. He had to at least do something with his free time.

He turned on the TV, and he flipped through the channels a bit. Until... he saw a female newsreporter outside of a bank.

"We are live from the city bank, where we have just recieved word that there is a robbery in progress. There appear to be only 2 robbers, but they are holding several hostages. Here is exclusive footage inside of the bank that we were able to shoot."

The camera showed footage of what happened 5 minutes ago. Then Sousuke saw her.

One of the hostages was the captain, Tessa. He saw her tied up & gagged right next to Ryouta.

"This was a few minutes ago that the footage was taken. yes, several hostages all bound & gagged inside of the bank. We're waiting to see if there is a sign of resolution, but it's looking grim."

Just then, Sousuke's walkie talkie went off.

"Sagara! SAGARA! Help me!"

And he picked it up right away.

"Captain! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Tessa was on the other line, trying to act distressed.

"No, but Sagara, I'm being held hostage inside of the bank. I was able to escape into the broom closet, but Ryouta... he's still in there. You have to help us! AHH!"

Tessa purposely dropped her walkie talkie, as to make Sousuke think she was in a struggle. But in a minute, she really would be.

"Captain, come in! CAPTAIN!"

No answer. Sousuke's worry was starting to increase. The robbers had obviously recaptured Tessa, and she was in deep trouble. Sousuke had no choice. He looked in his closet, and opened what was an ordinary shoebox, but held some minor explosives. Not enough to explode a building, but enough to create a minimal blast. He put the explosive on the boarded window, and held an activator button in his hand. He moved away from the explosive, and pushed the button.

It blew up the wooden boards around the window, leaving Sousuke to charge out of it with his shotgun, holding stun rounds. At least, last he checked.

Kaname wasn't too far from Sousuke's apartment when she heard the explosion. All she could do was shake her head, and walk away.

"Get off of me! Lemme go!" Tessa was being grabbed by Kurz & Mao. Kurz held her arms, as Mao grabbed the rope on the floor, and used it to tie her legs together. The rest of the rope was just long enough to bind her hands behind her back, which Kurz was able to do without trouble. Tessa attempted to try & hop herself towards the door, but with her feet tied, she fell to the ground.

"You know this is useless. Once Sgt. Sagara gets here, you're both gonna be MMMMMMMMMPH!" Tessa's mouth had tape applied to it... again. Tessa was hogtied on the floor, and Kurz was able to pick her up, and make her lay in one of the room corners.

"We'll just leave you for Sousuke." Said Mao. She then poked Tessa on the nose making Tessa moan through her gag. "Since I know you'd want nothing else." Kurz didn't even say a thing as Mao was in complete ecstasy. She was enjoying sticking it to her superior, even though it would be adding fuel to the fire.

"Kurz, go on out there. I'll keep an eye on Tessa." Kurz whined. "Why can't I watch Tessa?" Mao looked at Kurz very viciously. As did Tessa. "Because... I don't trust you two in the same room together. Neither does she." Tessa nodded, and that would be Kurz's signal to reapply his facemask, and close the door behind him.

All this time, Tessa was struggling with her ropes in the hopes of getting into a comfortable position. No use. She was still on the floor lying on her belly. Her hands were behind her, and she couldn't even reach her legs, and try to untie them. Also no use.

"You're not going anywhere." "MMMPH?" "Just give it up. Sousuke will come and rescue you. It's inevitable. You're his little damsel in distress. And to be honest, I kinda like you better this way myself." "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMPH?" That enraged Tessa, and she continued struggling to no avail. It just made Mao laugh even more.

"So we've taken that girl into our own custody, but I can guarantee that there will be worse for the next person that gives us trouble. Now then, everyone stay quiet, and cooperate!" Kurz was outside trying to check on the hostages.

Ryouta was there smiling. All the time that Tessa was in the closet giving them a talking to, Ryouta had managed to untie himself to the point where he was free, but still able to look like he was still tied up. And when Kurz starting circling the hostages, that's when he made his move.

Ryouta's mouth was still taped, but he stood right up, and faced Kurz. "Hey, get on the ground!" Kurz shouted. But Ryouta was able to get a swift kick on Kurz, knocking him out. Ryouta removed the tape from his mouth. "How about... you get on the ground? Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to rescue my girlfriend." Ryouta then walked off confidently towards the broom closet.

While Mao was continuing to laugh at Tessa's predicament, the door opened. Mao didn't like who she saw. "You!" Tessa was happy. Ryouta rescuing her felt a little better then Sagara having to rescue her. "MEEEEMFFFFFTFFFFFFF!" She tried to call out to Ryouta, but all that came out was her muffled screams. Ryouta pointed directly at Mao. "You there! I've come to rescue Tessa-chan from your dreaded clutches." Mao chuckled. 'Tessa-chan? Man, this guy's cheesy.' Mao faced Tessa, who was giving her a threatful gaze, as if to say... If you hurt Ryouta, you will never be forgiven. Mao understood this, and decided to let Ryouta have the victory, but not without a proper fight.

Ryouta attempted a face palm strike, but Mao blocked it with her hand. She was attempting to sweep Ryouta down like last time, but Ryouta was prepared. He leaped his feet from the air, and struck Mao with a foot to the face. Now, normally, Mao would get right back up, but she decided to play dead, and give Tessa the benefit of the doubt.

Tessa was still trying to squirm free when Ryouta walked over to her. He removed the tape from across her mouth slowly as not to make it painful.

"Are you ok, Tessa?" "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for rescuing me." Ryouta started to work on her ropes. "No problem. Now let's get out of here." Tessa was untied, and standing up. "But Ryouta, what about that man?" "Oh, that guy? I gave him quite the discipline lesson, if I say so myself." "Really?" 'Ryouta had beaten up Kurz? I wish I could have been there.' Tessa thought to herself. She giggled to herself at the thought. And they then both left.

Surely enough, everyone was rescued, and released. Kurz & Mao were locked away for a full year for armed robbery. And Sousuke... he arrived too late to do anything. As for Ryouta...

He got a kiss. From his date, Tessa.

"I had a great time. I don't care that we didn't have dinner together, it was fun to be a hostage." "It was?" Ryouta was shocked. He expected Tessa to be dissappointed. Needless to say, that was the last thing he expected Tessa to say. "We should do this again." Ryouta suggested. "Like, whenever you're in town again." Tessa smiled once more. "Sure. I'd love to." Tessa ran off, with Ryouta waving her goodbye. Ryouta was happy.

Ryouta had gotten what he wanted in the first place.

A kiss. From Teletha Testarossa.

Tessa had returned to Merida Island on the Danaan. Commander Richard Mardukas had finished his notes regarding the Danaan's repairs, and he had one more point of business for his captain. "Um... Captain, there is still the matter of Weber & Mao. They are still in jail over in Japan, and..." "You could just leave them there." "Captain?" Captain Testarossa snickered. "Leave them both to rot." Mardukas just shrugged his shoulders. "That will be all, Commander." "Yes, Ma'am."

Tessa was left with her thoughts. But the only thing she had on her mind... was how long it would be until she & Ryouta could have a good time again.

THE END

Author's notes: If you're questioning why Kurz & Mao would rob a bank, then don't. It was much more fun to see what would happen if the 2 decided to play the villain role.


End file.
